Almost A Month into My Half Ironman Training
I signed up for my first Ironman 70.3 event in Michigan about the same time I completed my Spartan Sprint Race. After a week of healing and taking it easy, I was anxious to start training for the triathlon. I was super motivated but two things have really been holding me back this month. I'm not making excuses. These issues have not allowed me to train at 100% but I'm still working and giving it my best. The good news is I should recover from these soon and they'll be in my rearview mirror!
A Calf Injury Again....
30 days out from my Spartan Race I tweaked/pulled/injured my right calf. It caused me to limp on occasion and made my running sessions not so fun. It was one of those injuries that wasn't serious enough to sideline me completely but I knew it was there every time I ran. Well, it was getting better for a couple of weeks and then last week it came back with a vengeance! I was jogging up a hill and I could feel it tweak when my right foot pushed off. Fast forward to today's long run and it's still off but I'm making adjustments to help me heal. Today when I ran I went to a dirt trail which seemed to provide a little cushion and give for my calf. Second, I'm running every other day giving myself a rest day in between so that my calf can recover.
Sick and Exercising
About two weeks ago I got all congested and lots of coughing (Not COVID). It was keeping me up at night so I was pretty tired and had no energy. I took 3 days off that week in a row and basically laid on the couch or bed trying to rest. After that, I got back at it and I was able to get through my workouts but I was still sick. I took some Nyquil at night which I think allowed me to sleep better giving me more energy during the day. I still have a dry cough today but it's getting better. I really felt it when it was 28 degrees this morning and I went on a run. On the walk back to my truck I was hacking pretty loud and probably scaring some walkers nearby. Hopefully the beginning of this week I can get rid of this!
The Good This Month
With those roadblocks this month I still got some good things out of November:
Running- First, my running schedule even with a calf injury is still on track. I've been adding 10% more to each long run for the week. The goal is to hit 13 miles later this winter. Today I ran 5.05 miles, last week I ran 4.6 miles, and the week before that was 4.20 miles. I'm running 12-minute miles so they are slow but I'm putting my time in and eventually the speed will follow.
Peloton Bike- For this month my Peloton rides are going to be shorter but 3 days a week. Between running for 3 days, riding the Peloton for 3 days, and lifting weights 5 days I'm giving my body a pretty heavy workload. I'm slowly increasing the times and varying the intensity of classes I take. After my long run today I'm going to try and find a 45-minute low-impact ride tomorrow to get my time in but give my legs a rest. So far I'm on track and with the calf injury and dealing with a cold an indoor cycling ride is a welcome change!
The Bad This Month
The bad for me this month is weight loss and nutrition which is obviously connected. With a cold, I haven't been eating as clean and as often as I should be. When I'm sick I just don't feel like eating chicken and broccoli. I'm not eating fast food but I could definitely do better. I jumped on the scale this morning and it said I was 268 pounds which means I didn't lose any weight this month. Part of me says that is bad because I need to get a little lighter every month. Then there is another part of me that says "Chill the F Out" I was sick and it was Thanksgiving a few days ago! I'll try and see it that way....
Goals For December
Get healthy!- I want to ditch this cold and calf injury and enter December with no baggage holding me down. I'll be trying to get as much rest as I can to cure this cold and work on strengthening my calf muscle so I can be a little more bulletproof!
Keep Running- Keep running and keep adding more distance on that "long run". At the end of December in roughly 5 weeks I should be at 8 miles. When I look back and see where I came from 8 miles would be a huge accomplishment.
Keep Riding The Peloton- By the end of December I'd like to be doing one 60-minute, ride a week. Not only will that help my bike portion of training it will also help build my overall endurance. My running and biking will feed off each other!
Keep Weightlifting- I've been focusing on building my running endurance and Peloton rides but I've been quietly lifting weights 5 days a week. I'm hitting every upper body part twice and a leg day on Wednesday. I've changed my training approach a little bit since switching gears from a Spartan Race to an Ironman 70.3. I'm lifting lighter weights and higher reps. I'm not going to failure and I'm stopping probably 1-2 reps shy.
A Little Weight loss!- So I'm not going to put a weight loss goal for December but let's just shoot for one pound lighter. It's another big holiday month with Christmas so if I can make it out of December one pound lighter it's a win!
A Little Sidebar
I wrote about my experience at my Spartan Sprint Race but I think I might have omitted how much my 6-year-old son enjoyed it. After I was done with my sprint he did a half-mile kids race. He really enjoyed crawling through the tubes and climbing the cargo nets. He was super excited to get his medal and also pressured us into buying a Spartan backpack for him as well. He enjoyed it so much that I decided to buy him his race ticket for 2024 as part of a Christmas surprise. The thing is when you buy your son a ticket for a Spartan race you can't just go and watch him. As a dad I can't be a spectator so I registered for another Sprint. This time it's July 14th so with my triathlon training in full swing I'll be more than ready. My goal for this one is not to get hurt because I'll be a couple of months out from my Ironman race!